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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. MIDGLEY.

SAFETY TANK FOR GASOLENE STOVES. v

No. 563,500. Patented July 7, 1896.

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- (No Model.) 2 Sheets-8heet 2.

A; MIDGLEY. SAFETY TANK FOR GASOLENE STOVES.

No. 563,500. I Patented July 7, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER HIDGLEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF THREE- FOURTHS TOF. W. STEVENS, ORRIN P. CHAMBERLAIN, AND FRED.

A. ALLEN, OF SAME PLACE.

SAFETY-TAN K FOR GASO LEN E-STOVES.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 563,500, dated July 7,1896.

Application filed January 17, 1895- Serial No. 535,242. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER MIDGLEY,

of Chicago,Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSafety-Tanks for Gasolene-Stoves, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a tank or reservoir for containing a supply ofgasolene for gasolenestoves; and the object of the invention is toprovide a tank which shall afford the highest degree of safety in theuse of this recognized dangerous liquid. To this end I construct a tankfrom which the oil is fed upon the principle of siphonage,the oil beingdrawn from the bottom of the reservoir andlconducted through a suitablepipe to its top and thence discharged downwardly again through astand-pipe rigidly connected with the stove and projected through thereservoir to or above the top thereof. I have also provided means forbreaking the siphon at its bow or junction of the legs. I have alsoprovided means whereby the screw cap or cover for the filling-opening islocked while the can is in position to supply the oil. By means of myinvention the spilling of oil by the removal of the can for replenishingis absolutely prevented, while a sufficient head or supply of the oil isleft in the stand-pipe to run the burners until the can can be refilled.I also prevent by my construction the filling of the.

can without the breaking of the siphon and the raising of the can fromits operative position.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation throughthe stand-pipe. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the top of the can, showing theparts mounted thereon.

In the drawings, let 5 represent the can, which in the form shown iscylindrical, with the top and bottom slightly conical. This can hassupporting-legs 5, which are adapted to rest on a suitable frame orstand, (indicated by the lines a.) The heads of the can are centrallyperforated, and the tube 6 is secured in these perforations and servesas a guide for a stand or feed pipe 7, which is to be rigidly securedwith the stove and the upper end of which projects above the top of thecan, as seen in Fig. 1.

The upper cap or cover of the can is provided with ascrew-threadednipple 8, to which is fitted a threaded plug 9, having the thumbpieces10, by means of which it is unscrewed, and which also serve as membersof a stop or locking device.

Within the stand pipe 7 a supply-tube 11 depends to a point below thebottom of the can, where it opens into the tube 7. Said supply-pipecommunicates through an apertured cross-head 12 with the tube 13, whichlatter passes through the upper head of the can and extends parallel tothe tube 7, having a piston 14, working within a cylinder 15, arrangedin a subchamber or well formed by the casing 16. The stem of thecross-head has an enlarged bore, and a pipe 20 passes through this boreand communicates with the longitudinal aperture of said cross-head atits upper end, the lower end of said pipe being seated upon the upperend of the pipe 11. The joint is indicated by the heavy line 20, Fig. 1.The pipes 11 and 13, depending pipe 20, and cross-head 12 constitute thesiphon. The lower end of the cylinder 15 is open and is provided with anotch 17 of such height that when the piston is lowered the apex of theopening formed by the notch will be above the upper surface of thepiston. A vent for the air contained in the tube 7 is provided by thepipe 18, which communicates with the depending member 19 of thecross-head, the latter being adapted to enter the upper end of the pipe7 tightly. A plug 21, which is tightly fitted to the bore of pipe 7, isprovided with scores 22 to permit the escape of air from the pipethrough the enlarged bore of the depending portion 19 of the cross-headand into and through the pipe 18 into the space above the oil. The plug21 forms a support for the pipe 11 and a guide for the pipe 20. w

The operation is as follows: \Vhen the can is in position for use, thetube 7 projects through the tube 6 and embraces the-portion 19 of thecross-head tightly, and the latter being formed integrally with theescape-pipe 18 and cross-head 12 these parts, together with dependingpipe 20, are raised to the. position shown in Fig. 1. The tube 13,forming one leg of the siphon, is also raised, thus moving the piston 14upwardly Within the chamber. Said pipe 13 has an enlargement 13, whichquite accurately fits the aperture in the head of the cylinder 15, whilethe tube 13 is provided with an aperture 13" in its side wall, throughwhich the oil may enter the tube. lVhile the enlarged section 13 ispassing upwardly through the aperture a sufficient quantity of oil willmove upwardly through the tube 13 to establish a fiow of oil through thesiphon and discharge it into the stand-pipe 7 below the bottom of thecan, and after such fiow is established it will be maintained throughthe aperture 13 so long as the siphon is not broken by the removal ofthe can. The air in the pipe 7 will escape through the passage 18 intothe can above the oil and permit an immediate supply to the burners.

It will be observed that when the can is in position and the oil isbeing supplied through the siphon the screw-cap 9 cannot be removed,because the thumb-pieces 10 contact with the cross-head 12. When it isdesired to fill the can, it is lifted up, whereupon the siphon will bebroken by the separation of the pipes 20 and 11 and of the pipe 7 fromthe sleeve 19, and when the can is raised clear of the stand-pipe thecross-head will drop until arrested by the tube 6, thus passing belowthe plane of the thumb-pieces of the screwcap, whereupon the latter maybe removed for filling. Of course the oil will fill the tube 7 to thelevel of the oil in the can, which will provide a sufficient head of oilto supply the burners during the replenishing of the can.

Obviously some of the details of construction may be considerablyvaried. For example, the means for establishing a flow of oil throughthe siphon may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope ofthis invention. Likewise the vent for the air confined in the stand-pipemay be changed, and the locking of the cap for the filling-opening maybe accomplished in other ways than by the engagement of its thumb-pieceswith the cross-head, although I prefer the arrangement shown, becausethe lifting of the can is prerequisite to the unscrewing of the cap.

I have shown the stand pipe passing through a central opening in thebody of the reservoir. Obviously, this stand or discharge pipe might becarried up outside of the reservoir. Ihave also shown one of the legs ofthe siphon as being fixed within the standpipe and the other leg asbeing supported by the reservoir, and this arrangement I prefer, becausewhen the can is lifted or removed from its operative position withreference to the discharge pipe the siphon is thereby broken, and whenthe can is placed in position for use the leg of the siphon carriedthereby is raised, thus locking the screw-cap of the filling-openin g. Ido not, however, confine my invention to these precise details ofconstruction.

I claim- 1. A supply tank or reservoir having pipes extendedthe'rethrough and communicating at their upper ends to form a siphon,one of said pipes communicating with the reservoir near its bottom andhaving apiston attached thereto and said pipe being slidably connectedwith the reservoir, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination with a tank or reservoir, of a discharge or standpipe and a siphon composed of pipes forming the branches or legsthereof, one of which legs is supported by the reservoir andcommunicates with the interior of the reservoir near its bottom and theother of said legs being arranged within the stand or discharge pipe andadapted to be put in communication with its fellow by the placing of thetank in position for use, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a liquid tank or reservoir, of a stand-pipe ordischarge-pipe adapted when in position to extend above the level of theliquid in the reservoir and a siphon for discharging the liquidcomprising in combination two pipes, one of which is slidably connectedwith the reservoir and provided with a piston, a cylinder in which saidpiston works and to which the liquid is admitted above said piston whenthe latter is in its lowest position and the other leg of the siphonbeing arranged in the discharge-pipe and adapted to be put intocommunication with and separated from its fellow by the placing andremoval of the reservoir respectively, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a gasolene-tank, of a siphon for discharging theliquid therefrom comprising a pipe constituting one leg of the siphon,and having a piston secured thereto, a cylinder in which said pistonworks, a liquid-chamber concentric to said cylinder, a second pipeconstituting the other leg of said siphon and extending through saidreservoir, and discharging below the bottom thereof, a discharge-pipesurrounding said leg and also extending through the reservoir andadapted to communicate with the leg of the siphon carrying the pistonwhereby when the reservoir is put in place said leg is lifted thusreciprocating the piston and forcing the oil upwardly through said legto establish a flow, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a tank or reservoir, of a discharge or standpipe and a siphon composed of pipes forming the branches or legsthereof, one of which legs is supported by the reservoir andcommunicates with the interior of the reservoir near its bottom and .theother of said legs being arranged within the stand or discharge pipe andadapted to be put in communication with its fellow by the placing of thecan in position for use, and a vent or escape for the air containedwithin the stand or discharge pipe, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a gasolene tank or reservoir, of a siphon havingthe legs or branches thereof separable and one v of said legs beingmovable with reference to the reservoir, a pump the piston whereof isconnected with said movable leg, and a stand or discharge pipesurrounding the other leg and adapted to engage the movable leg wherebyto reciprocate the pump-piston to establish a flow of oil, substantiallyas described.

7. In a gasolene-tank, the combination with a discharge-pipe, of asiphon having its legs separable and one of its legs being adapted to belifted by the placing of the reservoir upon the stand-pipe, afilling-opening in the headoperative position and to be released whenthe tank is removed from the stand-pipe, substantially as described.

ALEXANDER MID GLEY.

Witnesses C. O. LINTHICUM, N. M. BOND.

